Of course, technical skills are essential for tech professionals. But technical knowledge isn’t the only thing that employers look for when hiring in 2025.
To be an ideal candidate, tech professionals need to demonstrate that they have the right transferable skills for the job. Today, people working in tech have a range of responsibilities and need to collaborate with many different stakeholders. As a result, job descriptions increasing request applicants to reach beyond purely technical skills. Candidates must now show that they are the most well-rounded person for the role.
In this blog, we analyse survey results to identify the most in-demand transferable skills for tech employers in 2025. We also outline how you can demonstrate your strength in these areas when applying for roles. Keep reading to find out more.
Transferable skills are abilities that you can apply across different jobs, industries, and situations. You may also know transferable skills as portable skills or soft skills.
Having a strong set of transferable skills will often make you more adaptable and much more desirable to potential employers.
Some examples of key transferable skills that tech employers may be looking for include:
Interpersonal skills
Attention to detail
Leadership skills
Creativity
Organisational skills
To identify your transferable skills try to reflect on your past experiences and consider any feedback that you have received. You may also want to try:
Sustained success in a tech role relies heavily on continuous learning. If you’re a candidate with less experience than others, employers need to know that you can come on board and respond well to training. You need to be open to developing further, especially if some elements of the role are unfamiliar to you.
Even if you have a high level of technical ability, your knowledge will quickly become redundant without continuous learning.
No matter what your role in tech may be, you’ll need to find solutions to a range of problems. While direct experience is useful, employers benefit from people who offer new ideas on how to approach and overcome challenges.
Strong problem-solving skills can also indicate strength in more technical areas, like data analysis. The ability to review the facts and define a positive solution is a key skill across all industries.
Many organisations face challenges when implementing digital strategies. To be an effective team member, you must adapt to ever-changing goals, challenges and even responsibilities. Jobseekers should be able to give examples of how they’ve done this in order to meet deadlines.
If you’re looking for a senior position, think about ways you can influence your team to adopt change. Those in a more junior role are instead responsible for reacting to new processes and ways of working. The success of change depends on strong leadership, but the team’s receptiveness to change is just as important.
In your job application, highlight specific work experiences that demonstrate when you’ve adapted to change effectively. This approach will serve as a valuable example of your transferable skills.
Good communication is a highly desirable skill to have in any industry, and tech is no different. Being able to engage with colleagues sitting next to you, as well as those on the other side of the world, is crucial. What’s more, in the tech sector, communication skills are essential for translating complex systems and solutions to less technically-knowledgeable colleagues.
Simply listing transferable skills in your cover letter, CV or at the start of your interview, won’t do. When applying for a new role, presume that the hiring manager has heard the same skills and buzzwords from every candidate. If you want to stand out, try to:
Provide specific examples of using your transferable skills.
Describe the benefit your skills have brought to your past employers.
When talking about your transferable skills, be as specific as possible. Instead of saying, “I’m a problem solver”, you can attribute this to a role in your job history. For example:
“I created a purpose-built X, saving our team X hours per month in manual processes.”
Here are some ways to showcase our top 5 transferable skills to potential employers on your CV or in an interview:
A learning mindset: List the skills you developed in your past roles and how they helped.
Problem-solving skills: Explain how you’ve been creative in finding solutions, and what the result was.
Flexibility and adaptability: Think about a time you had to adapt to changes in a project or organisation structure.
Ability to adopt change: Discuss the benefits and results from a time when you have adopted change.
Communication skills: Talk about situations in which you’ve collaborated with large or remote teams to deliver a product or project. Specify how many stakeholders have you worked with, both internally and externally.
Read more expert CV advice to talk about your transferable skills the right way.
While technical skill is essential to success in tech, you need to go the extra mile to impress hiring managers in 2025. By demonstrating the transferable skills needed to contribute to business success, you’ll stand out as a desirable candidate.
Tips for finding a job in tech
The top 10 permanent tech jobs in 2025
How AI can help you in your job search
Or search our available tech jobs online.
James Milligan Global Head of Hays Technology
James Milligan is the Global Head of Hays Technology, having joined in 2000. In his role, he is responsible for the strategic development of Hays' technology businesses globally.
